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Wang Injured in Game Against Yankees

VIERA, Fla. — It was a familiar sight for the Yankees, seeing Chien-Ming Wang’s sinker leading to a metronome of ground balls and swings and misses. Unfortunately for Wang, he provided another familiar sight on Thursday afternoon, when he pitched against his former team in a Washington Nationals uniform.

This sight was a painful one: Wang limping off a baseball diamond.

One out into the third inning at Space Coast Stadium, in what was shaping up as another solid spring outing for Wang, he fielded a Russell Martin dribbler to the infield’s right side. But Wang stumbled several steps before stepping on first and then tumbled to the ground, sustaining what the Nationals said was a strained right hamstring.

It could have been worse, as the Yankees can attest.

After back-to-back 19-win seasons in 2006-7, Wang became the de facto ace on a Yankees pitching staff that including Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. He was a rising star. Only Ron Guidry reached 50 victories in fewer starts as a Yankee (82) than Wang (85).

But on June 15, 2008, with Wang sporting an 8-2 record, everything changed. In an interleague game against the Houston Astros, he pulled up lame while rounding third base on a Derek Jeter single.

“My heart goes out to him,” Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s been through a lot.”

When Wang returned from his foot injury in 2009, he struggled to a 1-6 record and a 9.64 earned run average, fueling speculation that he had altered his mechanics. Some reports said his release point was higher than it was before the injury, leveling his sinker. Eventually, Wang was diagnosed with a torn shoulder capsule and underwent surgery, missing most of the next two years while the Yankees allowed him to become a free agent.

Photo

The former Yankee Chien-Ming Wang, now with Washington, injured his hamstring covering first on a ground ball by Russell Martin.Credit
Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Late last season, he made a comeback to the major leagues with the Nationals, going 4-3 while showing flashes of his former dominance.

The Yankees saw some of that same dominance on Thursday.

“He looked really good,” Girardi said. “I don’t remember his curveball being that good. I feel bad for him now, because it looked like he tore his hamstring.”

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Nationals first baseman Chad Tracy said Wang’s left leg “was quivering” as he waited for assistance. “You could see he was hurting.”

Martin said, “I asked him if he was O.K., and he just shook his head.”

Nationals Manager Davey Johnson said Wang was sent for further tests.

“Hopefully, it’s not serious,” Johnson said. “He was having a great spring. It seemed that when he bent down to field the ball he strained his hamstring, and then when he straightened up, he felt it. We’ll have to see what the tests show.”

Wang easily handled Yankees hitters in the first inning, looking much like the pitcher they once knew — and had. He struck out Brett Gardner looking, induced Martin to ground out and struck out Andruw Jones swinging.

By the time he limped off the field, Wang had pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

“That was the first time I’ve faced him, and I was impressed,” Martin said. “I had some hitter’s counts on him, and he still threw some fastballs up in the zone that had a run to it. It was good. The sinkers were down in the zone. He had some real good stuff, no question.”

Inside Pitch

Joe Girardi did not seem to think that Freddy Garcia’s bruised right pitching hand would mean anything more serious than a missed spring training start. A one-hop grounder struck Garcia between his thumb and index finger on Wednesday, causing swelling. X-rays were negative. “When you get hit in the hand, there are a lot of things that can go wrong,” Girardi said. “So I think we’re pretty fortunate.” ... Michael Pineda’s velocity peaked at 92 miles an hour, down from the mid-90s he displayed last year with Seattle. But Pineda continues to impress with his new pitch — a changeup, which he threw 10 times over 65 pitches.

A version of this article appears in print on March 16, 2012, on Page B18 of the New York edition with the headline: Wang Injured in Game Against Yankees. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe